Is Pant’s Spot in India’s ODI Squad Uncertain? Potential Replacements for NZ Series

New Delhi:

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is all set to announce India’s squad for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand on January 3. There might not be major changes to the squad that recently won the ODI series against South Africa at home. But there is a likelihood of a couple of changes.

One spot among them can be of the second wicketkeeper, which is currently held by Rishabh Pant. The Uttarakhand-born was part of India’s ODI squad for the South Africa series, but did not get a game with KL Rahul being the first-choice keeper batter for a long time now. 

While he is one of the biggest match winners in the Test format, Pant has not been able to convert his promise into many noteworthy knocks in the white-ball format for India. 

Pant fails in Vijay Hazare Trophy

There is not much to show for Pant in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, too, which compounds his worries. The 28-year-old has hit only one fifty in four matches for Delhi, with that 70 being the only saving grace. His low scores of 5, 22 and 24 might not prompt the BCCI selectors to pick him in the ODI squad for the New Zealand series, and his ODI future post this series is not clear either.

Who are the candidates who can come in for Pant?

There are a few names who can be India’s second-choice wicketkeeper in place of Pant. Two frontrunners are Ishan Kishan and Dhruv Jurel.

Having been called into India’s T20 World Cup squad as a wicketkeeper who can open, Kishan can come into the ODI squad as well for Pant. He scored a 125 in his only Vijay Hazare Trophy outing for Jharkhand against Karnataka, and that knock came when he batted at No.6. This might make Kishan’s case a bit stronger.

Meanwhile, Jurel is another candidate who can replace Pant. He was part of India’s ODI squads for both the series against Australia and South Africa despite not making his ODI debut. Jurel was the second-wicketkeeper in the squad for the Australia ODIs, while he was picked as a pure batter in the South Africa series.

Jurel is also in form as he made an 80, a 67 and a 160* in three of his four outings in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. This makes him a strong contender, and possibly even stronger than Kishan, for the spot as the second wicketkeeper in the Indian team.

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